


Nocturnal

by jetbradley



Category: Tron - All Media Types, Tron 2.0
Genre: Gen, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:16:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28586346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetbradley/pseuds/jetbradley
Summary: Mercury spends her first night after being undigitized staying at Jet's place. She can't sleep. And it turns out the undigitizing process gave her some inhuman traits.
Relationships: Jethro "Jet" Bradley & Mercury (Tron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	Nocturnal

Jet was almost on his way to sleep when he heard some rustling coming from the bedroom.

It was Mercury’s first night since being undigitized, and he had no idea how she would sleep. She’d been tired ever since coming into the analog world, and he’d let her stay with him in the loft above the old arcade to keep an eye on her. He’d even given her his bed hoping it would help her fall asleep. Hence his current position on the couch.

It’s not like Jet didn’t have enough problems sleeping himself. Between a constant background headache ever since his first digitization, a mind going a mile a minute, a caffeine problem that probably wouldn’t get solved anytime soon, and a general constant worry about something happening to Mercury in her first sleep, it was taking him ages to conk out. Being too tall to actually _fit_ on the couch wasn’t helping.

It’s no surprise Mercury’s light footsteps were enough to wake him when she made her way out of the bedroom. His first instinct was irritation, but he shut out the thought. Mercury had never slept outside of the system before. And based on her stories, it sounded like she’d hardly gotten a sleep cycle in the entire time Jet was digitized, either. She couldn’t help it. If anything, she was probably programmed to be hyperaware of the system around her, being an infiltrator and all. 

When he heard her make her way into the kitchen, he rolled off the couch. He was way too wired to get any sleep himself. He made his way to the door, and when he saw her, he stopped—

She was looking in the refrigerator, probably for water, or yogurt. (It was the only thing she’d eaten willingly since getting undigitized; the viscosity of it was strange to her, and the occasional fruit chunks made her gag at first. Anything with more texture than a cup of energy had completely ruined her appetite, though, so yogurt was acceptable for now.) In the dim light, she looked almost human, the darkness masking most of the tattoo-like circuit lines dotting her arms and neck. Her hair, constantly kept back when inside the computer, was coming undone in chunks, with the once-gelled texture that Jet recognized thanks to how often it graced his own head. But that wasn’t why he stopped.

It was her eyes.

They were _glowing._

…Well, they weren’t glowing. Or at least, they weren’t glowing like circuits glow, pulsing with the power and spirit of the program they adorn. They were just reflecting, like… Like a cat’s, almost. Visible from Jet’s position in the doorway, even with her eyes trained on the refrigerator, from the bright light that poured out of the appliance almost like an arcade cabinet.

She glanced over to him, just for a second, before returning to the fridge, and Jet’s heart _stopped._ As soon as she looked at him, the light reflected directly from her eyes to Jet’s own; and for that moment she looked less like the fearless hacker he’d known in the computer, the formidable, undefeated fighter of the Game Grid, and more like—literally—a deer in headlights.

She didn’t seem to think much of Jet’s shocked expression, though, because when she spoke, she was still as direct as always, although quieter. “Jet, where did you keep the yogurt in here?”

“T’s the- it’s the bottom shelf right above the vegetables,” he managed. He rubbed an eye. “You might have to dig.”

“I think you might be out, then-” She rummaged through some groceries. Tortillas, probably. Quesadillas were Jet’s go-to brainfog food lately. “Oh, no, there’s a couple in the back.”

“Wait, check the expiration date.” He had no idea when he’d bought those.

She squinted her eyes at the cup. “What?”

“Here-” Jet stepped next to her and tilted the cup of yogurt in her hand. Come to think of it, he probably should have taught her this before he taught her how to rummage through his fridge. “User food spoils over time, right? So they always put a date on it. Sometimes the date just means it won’t taste as good after then, but anything with milk in it, like yogurt, you probably shouldn’t eat after that date.”

Mercury eyed the milk inquisitively and nodded with a hum. Her eyes were still glowing. Jet tried his best not to look at them. Instead, he turned the yogurt around in her hand until a date came into view on the inner face of the bottom of the cup. He took the cup and tilted the date into the light.

“See how it says 10-12-03? That means it’s good until October 12.”

“And today, it’s October…”

“Fifth.”

“That works, then.” She took the yogurt out of Jet’s hand. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

He glanced down at Mercury’s face again. She was eyeing the yogurt with a satisfied look, eyes still reflecting the light of the fridge. There were unmistakable bags under those glowing eyes, though, something he’d never seen on her back in the computer. She walked away to grab a spoon, and Jet closed the fridge behind her. But he paused with his hand on the door.

“Mercury?”

“Hm?”

“Have you actually been trying to sleep?”

She turned around to face him, but didn’t look at him. She was unpeeling the yogurt’s top, applying a careful pressure so as not to break the foil. “You know… I thought I was. But I don’t really know if what I was doing counts as ‘trying to sleep.’”

Fair enough. “Can’t turn your mind off?”

“You know, I tried that a few times. Funny how users give the same advice for falling asleep as we programs do.”

It was said with a smile, but it made Jet kick himself. To be honest, he didn’t know if trying that would work for himself, either. It’s just what everyone always told him. Come to think of it… Could users even turn off their minds? He leaned against the fridge. 

“Try thinking…” He paused, trying to think about how he fell asleep. Not like he could give much advice. “Try just thinking calm thoughts. Warm ones. It’s what I always do. Not think about serious things, you know?” He kicked himself mentally. Would she know? Was programs’ sleep anything like users’ sleep? “Or… scary ones? If you keep yourself stressed, you won’t fall asleep. For sure.”

“Hm.” She was still focused on the yogurt. “I’ll try that.”

“Alright, give it a go. I’ve got pills for if you really can’t, but again, you don’t have to take them. First night out here and all.”

“So I won’t, then.” She looked up at Jet and smiled. It wasn’t as bright now, with the fridge closed, but there was definitely still a dim glow behind her eyes. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. Night.”

He watched as Mercury turned and left the kitchen, bringing the yogurt with her to his bedroom. Would she remember to bring the cup out and throw it away before morning? He doubted it. And then she’d probably tell him she couldn’t sleep because of the yogurt smell… 

He shook his head and went back to his bed on the couch. He turned over a couple of times and scowled when his neck hurt at every angle he could think of. You know what… It’s not like he was getting any sleep anyways. Fuck it. He grabbed a pillow and rolled off the couch, settling with a soft thunk on the floor.

 _A total of three out of ten for_ that _conversation,_ he scolded himself as he rolled his blankets around himself. He shut his eyes, hoping those glowing eyes wouldn’t haunt his dreams.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure how to write them, but I tried. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Based off a conversation I had with some friends about programs having inhuman traits based off their purpose.


End file.
